The Morrow Gill Business Park held a Grand Opening ribbon cutting and open house Friday afternoon in Sand Springs with free hot dogs, burgers, refreshments, and tours of their facilities.

Morrow Gill Lumber Co. was a beacon of small business for six decades in Sand Springs before it closed in 2015. Though the iconic lumber yard is no more, it lives on in the form of a new business park that aims to be a stepping stone for other small local businesses.

When partners Jeff Hilst and Dustin and Dorinda Hansen purchased the five-acre property in 2016 they were unable to recruit a new lumber or hardware store, but that didn’t stop them from developing the property. Not only have they found a tenant for the original facilities, they have also built two additional buildings to help encourage growth in the budding community.

The new Morrow-Gill Business Park features two single-story buildings totaling nearly 50,000 square feet of mixed industrial and office space. Nine of the 25 spaces have already been leased, but there’s still plenty more available for new or growing businesses in the Sand Springs or West Tulsa areas.

The warehouses feature 14’ by 14’ drive-in doors with electric openers, 16’ clear height, LED lighting, radiant heat and HVAC, and ADA-compliant restrooms. Tenants have the choice between 1,250, 1,625, 2,000, or 3,000 sq. ft. with approximately 225 sq. ft. of office space per unit.

The 1,625 sq. ft. units are 25’ by 65’ with entry doors on both ends. The 2,000 sq. ft. units are 40x50, the 1,250 sq. ft. units are 25x50, and the 3,000 sq. ft. units are 30x100 with garage doors on both ends of the warehouse, allowing drive-through convenience.

“Our biggest thing is to help people get out of their garages and find a nice place to work and grow their business,” says Dustin Hansen. The couple envisions the property as perfect for plumbers, electricians, HVAC companies, and other tradesman type businesses. “I like being able to move someone in, and a year later they’re ready to move into a bigger space.

Jeff Hilst has always lived in Tulsa and has been a real estate investor since he was 15 years old. Dustin and Dorinda aren’t originally from Oklahoma, but they’ve lived in the Tulsa area for twenty years and have extensive experience in developing Sand Springs. One of Dorinda’s first jobs in property management was the lease renewal deal that kept the Sand Springs Post Office in its current location, almost fifteen years ago. The partners also own several rent houses in the Sand Springs and Prattville areas.

Although they often deal in big ticket properties, they’re very much a small family operation. The Hansen’s two young daughters can be found helping with chores around the properties, helping envision future construction on undeveloped land, and even riding scooters in the vacant warehouses. “We’re a small business trying to help small businesses,” says Dorinda.

“We’re fully invested in doing what we can to help grow (Sand Springs) and continue developing,” adds Dustin. “We really like the area.” The partners are already looking for their next big Sand Springs development project.

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